TWDT-D starts one hour early in the playoffs, while TWDT-J starts thirty minutes early, to ensure games finish on-time for our European players who are up very late and have work the next day.

Lineups

Restrictions

TWDT-D: Not to exceed 40* total per lineup. Any lineup added that is 40* or below is valid.
TWDT-J: Not to exceed 40* total per lineup. Any lineup added that is 40* or below is valid.
TWDT-B: Not to exceed 67* total per lineup. Any lineup added that is 67* or below is valid.

These lineup restrictions apply at all times. You are not allowed, at any point of a live match, to exceed the maximum * total per lineup. This will apply to subs as well. If a player dies out in TWDT-D/J, his or her star value remains as part of your team's total. Captains should advise themselves and their assistants to have a calculator ready and to have valid substitutions mapped out before matches begin.

If there is an honest mistake such as subbing two players in quick succession and going over the cap for a short moment before quickly fixing it, you must have reasonable evidence that the player who made the lineup invalid did not impact the game (i.e. shoot, repel, attach, burst), for as long as the lineup was invalid. If an appeal is proposed about this error and the captain is unable to absolve himself with evidence, he will be forced to forfeit the game 50-0 or 15:00-0:00.

Borrowing

TWDT-D/TWDT-J:

Only players already rated in the draft are eligible to be borrowed.

Teams are permitted ONE 7* or below borrow per game if they're unable to field a valid lineup from their own roster. The player's star value in the specific league they are being borrowed for is what counts. A player may exceed 7* in another league but still qualify as a borrow.

A borrowed player must be confirmed by a League Op before he's considered eligible to play. If a player is not confirmed eligible for borrowing, the team who added the ineligible player will forfeit the match 50-0. Captains and League Ops should always have ?log running to verify a borrow agreement in the case of potential appeals.

Borrowed players are only eligible before the start of the game. Subbing in a borrowed player is not permitted and will result in a forfeit.

TWDT-B:

Only players already rated in the draft are eligible to be borrowed.

Teams are permitted TWO 7* or below borrows per game if they're unable to field a valid lineup from their own roster. The player's star value in the specific league they are being borrowed for is what counts. A player may exceed 7* in another league but still qualify as a borrow.

Borrowed players must be confirmed by a League Op before they're considered eligible to play. If a player has not been confirmed for borrowing and is added, the team borrowing the ineligible player(s) will forfeit the match 15-0. Captains and League Ops should always have ?log running to verify the agreement in case of potential appeals.

Borrowed players are only eligible before the start of the game. Subbing in a borrowed player is not permitted and will result in a forfeit.

Borrowing in the Playoffs:

The same borrowing rules apply from the regular season, but the pool of potential borrows will be limited to rated players who have been eliminated from playoff contention.

Trades

For the first few weeks of the tournament, trading will be open from Sunday at 6:00PM EDT until the next Friday at 3:00PM EDT. This allows 48 hours for league ops to approve or deny proposed trades before the matches begin the following Sunday.

There will be no limit to trades this season.

The final trading deadline will be August 2, 2019 at 11:59 PM EDT.

Unlike trading during the initial draft, trading FA picks will be possible, but the value of the potential pick will be determined by the quality of player(s) who are expected to be available at the specific drafting position.

Before being official, all trades must be proposed on the forums under the TWDT Summer 2019 Trades thread and must be approved by the TWDT League Op team.

We will be using the trade calculator, but with the new lineup caps, if there's an argument for teams trading each other equal value (relative to each roster) despite total * disparity, they may still be considered valid trades. League Ops also have the right to veto any trades that are obviously one-sided or questionable due to malicious reasons (i.e. sabotaging their own team.)

All trades must be approved/denied within 48 hours by the league op team with an explanation of their reasoning behind the decision.

Bans

Players are subjected to bans or other punishments, to be decided by league ops on a case-by-case, common sense basis. Some cases will absolutely not be tolerated or negotiated:

Trading names without notifying league ops or logging on someone else's name during a match is an auto-ban from participating in TWDT for a minimum of (2) seasons.

Playing under an alias that is immune to proper alias checking while not providing your real alias. The league team can only properly rate a player if they've been identified. Overpowered players who abuse this will forfeit their opportunity to participate with a season long ban.

Threatening a captain prior to the draft of not showing or refusing to play for them after being picked will constitute an immediate warning. If the behavior continues, the player will be banned for a minimum of (2) seasons. Be an adult and ask for a trade. If that doesn't work, be a bigger adult and soldier through for the sake of the community and your future in TWDT.

Current Bans:

None.

NOTE: Cyclone removed from ban list on 6/8. There is no practical reason to ban Cyclone from the league. If a cap thinks he will troll, the cap has no reason to add him. If a cap wants to take a chance on him, there's no reason the cap shouldn't be able to.

Appeals

Every captain will have a maximum of three appeals per league throughout the regular season. Every playoff match will be eligible to be appealed.

Appeals must be submitted within 24 hours of the incident on the TW forums. A detailed account of the situation and the argument for the appeal should be provided in the thread. Failure to submit an appeal within 24 hours will deem the appeal invalid and the results of the game in question will be considered final.

The league op team will respond to appeals within 72 hours after the appeal was posted with a verdict and an explanation of their reasoning behind the decision.

If an appeal is granted, the game will be replayed at an agreed time that works for both teams involved. If the opposing team is unwilling to reschedule their match at a reasonable date, they will forfeit the replay.

Note: If something unforeseen happens that isn't accounted for in the rules or has no precedence, league ops are responsible for coming up with a common sense, rational, and fair ruling on the situation.

Emergency Scenarios:

In the unlikely event that something catastrophic or completely unforeseen happens that has the potential to ruin the season, the league operators will do their best to solve the issue with the best interest of the TWDT season as a whole in mind. TWDT captains will all be consulted and play a role in handling such a critical decision.

Playoffs

The six teams with the most total wins throughout the regular season will qualify for the playoff bracket in all leagues.

During quarter-finals, the top two teams based on most total wins will receive the #1 and #2 seeds and will receive a bye in all three leagues. Seeds #3 through #6 will be determined based on the win totals in each respective league. Seed #3 will play seed #6, and seed #4 will play seed #5.

Once in semi-finals, the four remaining teams will be reseeded based on the win totals in each respective league. Seed #1 will play seed #4, and seed #2 will play seed #3.

For purposes of tiebreak for seeds #1/2 and for determining which teams make the playoffs, the overall head-to-head record will be taken into account across all three leagues between the tied teams. If the teams are tied (3-3), the team with the highest amount of kills in wb, jav, and base (base minutes will be converted into kills, with 15 minutes equal to 50 kills) among the tied teams will rank higher for bye purposes, or for entrance into the playoffs. If for some reason the tied teams are tied in overall kills in wb, jav, and base against each other (with minutes converted into kills), the tiebreak will then shift to highest amount of kills in wb, jav, and base (base minutes converted into kills) across ALL teams. If still tied, randomly selected (via twitch stream).

For tiebreaks among seeds #3 through #6 in quarter-finals and for reseeding in semi-finals in each individual league (with win totals separated by league), it will first be head-to-head record between the tied teams for each specific league. If the teams are 1-1 against each other in a league, it will then go to highest amount of kills between the tied teams in that league. If the teams are both 1-1 against each other, and tied in overall kills in that league from their two head-to-head games, it will then go to total number of kills in that league against ALL teams. If still tied, randomly selected (via twitch stream).

When converting base minutes into kills, with 15 minutes equal to 50 kills, any decimal .5 or above will be rounded up, and any decimal .499999 and below will be rounded down.

Star Cap Limits remain in place for the playoffs

Only players who have been eliminated from playoff contention are eligible to be borrowed

Borrowed players who play a full game in the Semis or Finals earn a medal for their contributions.

Playoffs Format is is a Best of 3 in TWDT-D, TWDT-J, and TWDT-B. All warbird and javelin games are to 50, and all basing games are to 15 minutes.

Playoff Schedule

As mentioned earlier, to account for the best of three format, TWDT-D matches will begin an hour early and TWDT-J matches will begin 30 minutes early.

TWDT-D -- 2:00PM EDTTWDT-J -- 3:30PM EDTTWDT-B -- 5:00PM EDT

Main Draft

The draft will take place on July 7, 2019 at 3:00PM EDT. The draft will snake until the last player is selected.

Players asking to sign up after 1:00PM EDT may be allowed entry to the FA Draft at the TWDT Head Ops discretion, but is under no obligation to do so.

Signups

Main Draft:

Players must sign up by 11:59 PM EDT on July 5, 2019 to be eligible for selection in the main draft, as captains must have adequate time to consider all prospects and adjust their draft sheets.

All signups after 11:59 PM EDT on July 5, 2019 will be added to the FA draft pool.

The FA deadline is 1:00PM EDT on July 28, 2019.

Message From The League Op Team

Thanks for participating in one of the two premier leagues of Trench Wars, the Summer 2019 Season of TWDT!

As a player, it's expected you conduct yourself like an adult throughout your time in the league. You're playing with a community full of other adults with jobs, social lives, families, and other commitments outside of trench wars. Acting childish and throwing temper tantrums, while not a bannable offense, will not go unnoticed by the community. Do not waste other people's valuable time with unnecessary bullshit. Learn to play with other people, it's really not that difficult.

If you're interested in contributing to TWDT in any way, reach out to Ease or Ogron. If you enjoy creating content or want to help out with league work or staff duties, we would gladly use your services to help make this season as enjoyable as possible.

We also appreciate the recent herculean effort by the community that brought this game back to life. It's because of that effort that we're able to run another season of TWDT.

Welcome back, good luck and thanks for participating.

-TWDT 2019 League Op Team

*7/17 Edit - Removed "It will also count as one of a captain's four trades per season" language from the Trade rule, as there is no limit on trades this season.
*7/21 Edit - Removed some of the placeholders regarding free agency and removed the language Myth wrote in talking about the "new" changes to TWDT that are no longer new.
*7/21 - Trades now open at 6 PM on Sunday, immediately after TWDT, instead of 7 PM on Sunday.
*7/27 - Trade deadline added.
*8/18 - Tiebreak procedure expanded further before Week 6 games start.

Credit to Mythril for writing these rules last season, which I've copy pasta'd with light modifications.

These rules are not finalized, I just posted the thread for Ease to edit and modify in the coming weeks. In particular, the dates are not finalized, the star cap may be changed depending on the amount of signups, and the tiebreaker procedure is likely to change.